NETGEAR Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking and security products, has announced the availability of the NETGEAR 802.11g wireless access points - WGL102 - as well as NETGEAR wireless security gateway - WFS709TP.

The WFS709TP is designed as a network switch to connect, secure and manage up to seven wireless access points per device. Wired network upstream connectivity is via a Gigabit network port. All connections, except for power, are found on the front of the device. Administrators can access the configuration for the network switch via serial (console) or a Web interface. The serial interface can be frustrating, as many notebooks do not have serial ports these days, a USB connection for console access would have been more useful. The configuration menu is straightforward, easy to navigate, and can be easily understood by a network administrator. The menu gives the administrator a range of possible tasks and access options. The WFS709TP needs to be configured prior to attaching any of the wireless access points. Overall this is a very impressive package for small to medium businesses replacing older systems or introducing secure wireless networking into their IT environment.

The NETGEAR WGL102 is an 802.11g wireless access point that can only be operated in unison with the WFS709TP and together they create a robust enterprise level wireless network system. It delivers the secure, reliable, high performance wireless local area networks (WLAN s) as per today’s mobile workforce demands. The WGL102 is a “light” access point that implements the 802.11 standard, as part of the centralized architecture, much of the security configuration such as WPA2-Enterprise (802.11i), WPA2 and 802.1 x supports happens at the NETGEAR Pro Safe WFS709TP. The NETGEAR Pro Safe Smart Wireless Switch also supports MAC address authentication, support for multiple BSSID/ VLAN s and guest/contractor access.

The WGL102 and WAGL102 both support Power over Ethernet (POE), which the WFS709TP provides; they also ship standard with a 12V plug pack which can be rather clumsy and prone to failure especially if the AP s are deployed in ceilings or areas where the packs are likely to be accidentally knocked or unplugged. POE directly from the WFS709TP is a much better solution. Antennas are detachable and therefore if required, alternate antenna can be used.

All management of these access points is via the WFS709TP wireless gateway switch. This is excellent as it centralizes the management and administration functions to this single point.